This article presents the findings of a large scale study that tested a comprehensive model of predictors of three manifestations of sustainability: continuation, institutionalization, and duration. Based on the literature the predictors were arrayed in four groups: variables pertaining to the project, the auspice organization, the community, and the main funder. The total sample consisted of 197 projects. Informants were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire, pertaining to the predictor and outcome variables. The findings show both a different model of predictors for each manifestation of sustainability and commonalities among them. Both financial and human factors were involved in all the manifestations of sustainability. Of the financial factors, diversity of funding sources was the most prominent. Of the human factors, the findings highlight the strong role played by the auspice organization's management and by the main initial funder.

The article reports on the findings of a comparative case study of six projects that operated in Israel between 1980 and 2000. The study findings identify characteristics of the programs, the host organizations, and the social and political environment, which differentiated programs that are sustained from those that are not. The findings reaffirm the importance of the human factor, namely, the commitment of the leadership of the host organization. In addition, the findings of these case studies point to factors that until now have not gained sufficient attention, such as the type of host organization or public attitudes toward different target populations.

This article employs a comparative framework in the analysis of the professional characteristics of social work in Israel. Using the attributes and the power approaches to professions, Israeli social work is analysed according to eight variables: a protected ‘trademark’, monopoly over social care and delivery of services within state welfare systems, occupational autonomy, length of training and control over training, internal differentiation by levels of expertise and competence, professional organisation, a sanction‐backed code of ethics, and material and symbolic rewards. The analysis reveals that Israeli social work has undergone an extensive professionalisation process and that it has characteristics that are not common in other countries. Initial explanations for this process are offered and discussed.

An effective transition of the psychiatric patientfrom the hospital to the community clinic is vitalT he community mental health concept emphasizes the responsibility of the community in absorbing mentally ill individuals. Its therapeutic framework and use of a multidisciplinary staff in providing continuity of care (1) aim to prevent repeated hospitalizations (2,3). The transition from hospitalization to ambulatory treatment in the community is a critical point (4,5) where therapeutic problems such as noncompliance with treatment can occur; for example, a patient might fail to keep an appointment at the clinic.Several therapeutic models have been described (6-8). Hospital-elinic coordination, prior to discharge, is essential to all. In ambulatory treatment, group therapy is common for dealing with chronic patients (9). Such therapy, directed toward improving social and interpersonal areas is generally structured, focused, and short-term and is based on cognitive and behavioural approaches (10). This study combines group therapy with a pyschoeducational approach (11). MethodsThe study included 75 mentally ill patients consecutively discharged from the Abarbanel Hospital in Bat Yam, Israel, during a 3-month period. The subjects were divided into 2 groups, according to the community clinic they attended.The experimental group ("re-entry group") included 42 patients (22 men, 20 women) referred from the hospital to a community clinic using a psychoeducational approach procedure. The control group included 33 patients (20 men, 13 women) referred to a different community clinic using the standard absorption procedure. Treatment was determined according to usual intake procedures and was initiated with the on-duty therapist. No clear difference was found in the distribution of diagnoses between the groups (X 2 = 5.3, P> 0.1) nor in occupation, type of residence, number of hospitalizations, or previous ambulatory treatment (Table 1). Methods ofAbsorption into the CommunityTherapy for the re-entry group was conducted in a structured, multidisciplinary therapy unit. The intake procedures included a personal evaluation, absorption into the group and transfer for continued therapy. Patients were given information about the process and the group, technical details such as the time and place of meetings, and information about the group leaders. Groups, each consisting of about 12 patients,

Benish A., Halevy D., Spiro S. Regulating social welfare services: Between compliance and learning With the ongoing privatisation and marketisation of social welfare, the regulatory functions of governments have become much more important, necessitating careful attention. Yet there is little scholarly work on the goals and nature of regulating privatised social welfare services. To fill this gap, this study examined the regulatory process used by the Israeli Youth Protection Authority (YPA) to regulate homes for atrisk youth. Based on 24 semi-structured interviews with inspectors and staff, the article highlights the YPA's distinctive learning-based and collaborative approach to regulating social welfare services. This approach puts the capacity-building of professional skills, rather than compliance, at the centre of the regulatory mission and leaves room for professional discretion to the homes and the inspectors. The article outlines the distinctive features of this approach, considering its advantages and shortcomings in comparison with the more legalistic and audit-based approaches currently dominating the field of social care inspection.Int J Soc Welfare 2018: 27: 226-235

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